Photos: Ten Most Shocking Colorado Crimes of 2014

To conclude our recent roundup of memorable 2014 mug shots (one that has featured women's booking photos, the top tattoo pics and the strangest mugs), we offer a twist: images and excerpts from the ten most shocking crime stories we covered last year. Check them out below, and be sure to click on the links and captions to learn more about each disturbing incident, listed in chronological order.

Around this time last year, we told you about the arrest of Eric Garcia for allegedly attempting to sexually assault two women in a twenty-minute period. Turns out Garcia had been even busier than originally reported.

He's now been convicted of sexual assault tries against three women during a one-hour period....

In October 1979, nineteen-year-old Martha Guzman was found naked and bleeding in the sanctuary of a Denver church. She died a few days later.

Now, after well over three decades, James Scott, a convicted serial rapist, has been formally accused of the crime. And according to an arrest warrant, he actually confessed to killing Guzman in 2007, more than six years ago....

In November 2012, we told you about the arrest of William Costello, a successful real estate broker with powerful political ties, on accusations of serial rape -- and the next month, he was linked to two more sex assaults.

This week, prosecutors finally began laying out their case against Costello, only to have a mistrial declared -- because Costello had apparently committed suicide....

Update: Yesterday, we told you about the arrest of 41-year-old Timothy Baca for allegedly killing his mother and then wounding two police officers as they tried to take him into custody; see our previous coverage below.

Now, more details are emerging about the crime itself, with Baca quoted in a police report as saying that he committed the murder because his mom had been possessed by demons and he needed to "make things right with God...."

During our last update about the tragic murder of Kristine Kirk (see our previous coverage below), we shared a probable-cause statement that made no mention of marijuana use by Richard Kirk, Kristine's husband, who's accused of killing her, despite multiple reports from law-enforcement sources to that effect. Now, however, a search warrant has surfaced that cites a specific pot edible Richard is said to have consumed prior to pulling the trigger....

In December 2012, North Carolina's Eric Jackson reportedly went to a church elder to make a confession: He and his five brothers had abused a young girl over the course of a decade. He reportedly said he needed to "walk in the light and confess his sin."

More than a year later, Eric's decision to clear his conscience has resulted in charges against him and his siblings, as well as their parents, who are suspected of knowing about what was happening to the girl, who's now sixteen and living in Colorado, but did nothing to stop it....

Update: Our original post about the arrest of Sterling teens Brendan Johnson and Cassandra Rieb for allegedly murdering his grandparents, Charles and Shirley Severance, contained plenty of unsettling information.

But claims from a newly released arrest affidavit in the case are infinitely more shocking. Among the assertions: Shirley begged for her life while being repeatedly stabbed, and after she was killed, Johnson and Rieb tried but failed to chop up her body while she was being incinerated. Moreover, the murders were committed nine days before they were reported....

Back in March, we told you about the arrest of sex offender Jaacob Vanwinkle following the murder of a woman and her two kids in Canon City. The person who led to Vanwinkle's arrest was a sixteen-year-old who he'd allegedly raped.

Now, court documents reveal Vanwinkle's plan to enter a guilty plea on all 36 counts against him in exchange for a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Continue for details about that development and the crime itself as outlined in a now-unsealed arrest affidavit....

Last week, we told you about the arrest of Daniel Stetzel for the brutal murder of his mom, Grand Junction resident Kathleen Stetzel. Now, however, information has emerged revealing that Stetzel, a multiple arrestee for violent offenses, had actually escaped from a halfway house weeks before the killing -- but the state's fugitive unit didn't start looking for him until the day after Kathleen died....

Following Keith Rohracker's conviction for neglecting his elderly mother on an epic scale, a judge told him he would receive one year less than the maximum sentence -- but only because his mom didn't die.

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Michael Roberts has written for Westword since October 1990, serving stints as music editor and media columnist. He currently covers everything from breaking news and politics to sports and stories that defy categorization.